McLaurin's body was recovered from a shallow grave in a wooden area off Carmack Road in Seven Springs on Sept. 22.

A press release issued by the Goldsboro Police Department stated that the N.C. State Crime Laboratory used DNA testing to make the identification. The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in Chapel Hill is expected to release the final autopsy report in February.

Sgt. Dwayne Dean of the Goldsboro Police Department said the family had been notified.

The story captured the attention of the Goldsboro community for more than three weeks in September when McLaurin's case was elevated from a missing persons investigation to an abduction and finally to a murder case.

Several press conferences and a community march were held to bring attention to the matter.

Investigators arrested four men in connection with the murder-kidnapping. Leonard Joyner, Jerome Butts, Omar Etheredge and Kevin Smith remain in Wayne County Jail awaiting trial. All four are being held without bond.